25 September 2015

When
I think of Jackson Pollock, I rarely think of food. It's funny, but I
don't think of artists as being great cooks. Maybe it is the
paint-stained hands, or the chemicals, or just some weird bias on my
part. Writer in the kitchen seems right but artists.... Needless to say
when I saw Robyn Lea's book, Dinner With Jackson Pollock: Recipes, Art & Nature, I was intrigued.

Turns out that after a busy day of splatter painting, Jackson headed into the kitchen.

Who knew?The cookbook features recipes from Pollock, Lee Krasner, and various artist friends who hung out in the Hamptons. (The pre-99% Hamptons where struggling artists could still find a home.) Pollock and Krasner
took advantage of the seafood and local produce. Much of what the pair
knew of cooking came from their parents. Pollock's taste ran to the
Midwestern fare ate at his mother's table. While they often hosted other
artists, Stella made several appearances in the kitchen.

Lee Krasner, Stella Pollock, and Jackson Pollock.

One
of the most charming items uncovered by Lea was Stella Pollock's
handwritten recipe book. A familiar site in many family kitchens. Her
son built on her recipes in an attempt to become a better cook.

His
biggest culinary passion was baking. Given Pollock's reputation for
being erratic and boisterous, it is interesting to think that his
kitchen exploits gravitate to the precision and patience required for
baking. His signature baking accomplishment was his apple pie. It won
first prize at the Fisherman's Fair. It became so popular that every
year, people bid to buy his pie site unseen. The recipe for the crust
was written out by Stella on the back of a recipe book.

To prepare the
filling: Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Stew apples in a pot with
the water (add enough to cover the fruit), plus the sugar and spices,
until just cooked. Chill the apples in a little of the juice. When cold,
sift the flour over the apples and stir gently to combine. Set aside.

Preheat oven to
450°F. To make the pie crust: Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add
butter and cut in until mixture is crumbly. Add egg yolks and mix with
enough milk to make a dough. Roll out dough lightly. Place the pastry in
a greased 10-inch round pie dish, allowing pastry to overhang the edge
of the pan by about 1 inch; trim away excess dough, roll it into a ball,
and set aside to make the top crust. Be sure there are no cracks in the
bottom crust; seal them by pressing edges together with fingers. Pour
the apple mixture into the pie shell and distribute evenly.

For a simple top
crust, roll out the remaining dough, slide the pastry sheet onto the
rolling pin, and unroll it on top of the apple pie filling. Allow top
crust to overhang the edge of the pan by about 1 inch; trim away excess
dough, then pinch the top and bottom crusts together all around the rim
to seal the pie. Prick the top crust with a fork in about a dozen
places, or slice a few small openings with a knife, to allow steam to
escape. Brush the top pastry with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with a
pinch or two of sugar.

For a more elaborate lattice-style top, roll
out the remaining dough, cut into ½-inch strips, and weave strips across
the top of the filling. Brush the lattice strips with egg wash and
lightly sprinkle with a pinch or two of sugar.

Place the pie in the center of oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 325°F and bake 25 to 30 minutes more.

Funny
how something as simple as an apple pie can change the way you look at
art. Thanks to Robyn Lea, I will never look at Jackson Pollock the same
way. Art and recipes! What a combo.

24 September 2015

It takes very little to pique my interest. Pique sends me down a rabbit hole of consumptive excess. So let us back up and find out how The Crimson Field leads us to Edith Cavell and Oona O'Neil.

First let me dissuade you of the notion that I watched this thinking it had something to do with Alabama football.

I get a very spotty PBS station from remote Ohio. Much of what they show is several years behind the rest of PBS and they are prone to start a series and not finish it which is both dumb and infuriating. To add insult to injury, they like to list Masterpiece Theater as simple that--Masterpiece Theater; with no mention of what they are actually showing.

Recently, I watched The Crimson Field. Like of much of this PBS fare, it just sort of appeared without warning in episode three. The Crimson Field is the story of nurses in World War I. I liked it quite a bit, but in in its native England it got lackluster reviews and never made it to a second season. One of the story lines was about a nurse whose husband is German. She desperately wants to know if he is alive and this leads to problems. It also leads to Edith Cavell who was a nurse in World War I in German-occupied Belgium. She treated both Germans and Allies soldiers. She also managed to help about 200 Allied soldiers escape the Germans which got her arrested. She was tried for treason, found guilty, and executed by firing squad.

So of course, I wanted to read about Cavell. The major biography of Edith Cavell is written by Diana Souhami who was once described as favoring subjects of “grand lesbians and ragged mariners," having written about Gluck, Gertrude Stein, Greta Garbo, and Radclyffe Hall. Her major fame came from writing about the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe in her book Selkirk’s Island, which won a Whitbread Biography Award. Whatever the subject, Souhami is an excellent biographer and she does Edith Cavell justice.

And if that wasn't enough, one of the actresses in The Crimson Field was Oona Chaplin

who is the daughter of Geraldine Chaplin

and the granddaughter of Oona O'Neil Chaplin.

So of course, I was "forced" to reread Jane Scovell's biography, Oona.

The problem with writing a "Season 1" predicated on the notion that there will be a "Season 2" often means that story lines are left dangling. This happened with The Crimson Field. Our distraught band of nurses are left hanging as the war rages on. Too bad.

10 September 2015

I admit to being an Elsie de Wolfe fan. When I saw that Charlie Scheips had a new book, Elsie de Wolfe's Paris:Frivolity Before the Storm, I couldn't resist.

Scheips, who is a social historian and curator discovered of a cashe
of unpublished photographs. Not only were there photographs of de Wolfe's parties with their famous guests, there were also many candid shots of the extensive preparations for the parities. One is rarely privy to such behind the scenes preparation.

In W Magazine, it was reported that Scheips showed the photos to Babs Simpson, a former Vogue fashion editor who was, at the time, 101. Somewhat amazed, she exclaimed, “Where would one ever wear these beautiful dresses today?”

In fact, where would one ever attend such a lavish party? Even today's 1%ers, don't throw them like this anymore. That is one of the beauties of this book -- it is truly an artifact of a bygone ere.

It is hard to think of de Wolfe, Lady Mendl, at this time as being quite so elderly. She looks very much like someones aged grand-mère, but at 81, she still partied with the best of them!

Elsie and Paul-Louis Weiller in from of her Birthday cake.

The subtitle of Scheips' book, "Frivolity Before the Storm," captures the essence of history. The final Circus Party would take place in 1939. Her home was transformed. Sets were built, caterers commissioned, guest lists made, and orchestras hired.

Everyone would be buzzing about the event, but little did they know that it would be the last legendary ball of the era. Within two months, Adolf Hitler would invade Poland and the world would be forever changed.

The Duchess of Windsor said of Elsie de Wolfe,

"For bringing together all kinds of people in a gay, airy, but flawless setting, I have never known anyone to equal Lady Mendl. she mixes people like a cocktail -- and the results are sheer genius."

Elsie de Wolfe's Paris gives us a peek into that genius and into an era that will never be repeated.

07 September 2015

For the past few days, we have been trying to capture the Guinea pig abandoned at the book lender. He has survived dehydration, predation, motorcycles, and fracking truck, proving to be quite the little warrior.

My friend, Ann, upon seeing his picture decided to name him G-Force. And herein lies the problem...

Ann is basically a ten-year-old trapped in grown-up body. She loved the movie G-Force (as did I, I won't lie) about a group of marauding Guinea pigs who save the world from an evil billionaire. But Ann is a grown-up and not very likely to beg for a pet Guinea pig after seeing the movie.

Actual ten-year olds are not so wise. They see the movie, think in their little reptilian brains that Guinea pigs are really cool little crime fighting ninjas and beg for one from the Walmart.

At home, the Guinea pig sits quietly, eats and defecates. That's it. As a parent, one should explain this to the child, and not give in and get a Guinea pig just to abandon it when it doesn't save America. (P.S. this holds true for Easter chicks and bunnies, and tea cup pigs who grow up to be 400 pound porkers. Read up on a living creature before you bring it home!!)

So yesterday we devised an old-fashioned trap to catch G. Everything went as planned. G. got trapped. Then he went a bit berserk and frankly a berserk Guinea pig is more than just a little bit scary! Then he escaped through a wide section of the wire basket. One tends to forget that Guinea pigs are just rats with good hair, so we should have seen the escape coming.

Today, we were prepared. Wire basket was covered in chicken wire, cat carrier was close by, leather gloves were donned and soon, G. was in protective custody. Further proof that during a zombie apocalypse you wan to be in my car, because I could feed you...but I digress.

G. is now sitting in his comfy cage with water and chopped carrots, safe from harm.

Later this week he will head off to a safe shelter where he might just find a family to love him. If not he will be housed, and fed and looked after.

While this a fine end for G. I couldn't help but think that he is in far better circumstances than thousands of Syrian children whose parents, after risking their lives would be thrilled for a roof, some water, and a few chopped carrots. Let's hope they all have a similar outcome as the abandoned Guinea pig.

04 September 2015

Are Guinea pigs known to be great foragers and defenders of their territory?

Last time I checked, their territory was the Walmart pet section. Why didn't you abandon him at Walmart?

If you thought that you were leaving him at the Post Office so that we could mail him back to Walmart -- you didn't leave enough postage!

My friend, Ann, gave you the benefit of the doubt. She suggested that the Guinea pig escaped and ran away. (From a cage, in a house, to walk miles to the book lender?) In all fairness, Ann, was the person who years ago yelled frantically for me at 3 am. Pointing out the window in the ground below she asked if the animals frolicking in the D.C. moonlight were bunnies. They were rats!

Don't get me wrong...I have no great love for Guinea pigs. Unlike actual pigs, there is no bacon, there.

They don't sit in your lap and purr.

They don't fetch a ball.

But then, I didn't buy one. I didn't buy it a cage and bring it home. I didn't keep it till I was tired of it and then abandon it at the book lender. P.S. if you wanted to abandon it, why didn't you abandon the cage, too. That way, so someone who wanted the Guinea pig could have it?

I have tried to catch it, but to no avail.

When I first saw it, I thought "circle of life." But no, he has proven to be quite resilient, evading predators. And evading me.

So everyday I feed your Guinea pig, Jackass.

Let's hope he will someday let me catch him and get him to safe place.

In the meantime, if you are considering getting an animal, think about the long term responsibilities of such a decision. Some animal can actually outlive you!